South Korea's unification ministry said Friday the country was in consultations with the United States and the United Nations (UN) to get sanctions exemptions for the groundbreaking ceremony later this month for the inter-Korean railway and road connection project.
Lee Eugene, deputy spokesperson of the ministry, told a press briefing that South Korea was consulting with the UN and the United States to receive sanctions exemptions for the groundbreaking ceremony to modernize and connect railways and roads across the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
South Korea and the DPRK agreed Thursday to hold the ceremony on Dec. 26 at the Panmun Station in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong to break ground for the railway and road connection works.
The groundbreaking ceremony itself is not subject to the UN sanctions, but it could require the moves of materials banned under the restrictions.
The two Koreas have conducted an 18-day joint inspection on the DPRK's eastern and western rail lines since Nov. 30, after receiving sanctions exemptions from the UN.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed during their first summit in April to connect railways and roads across the border, agreeing in the third summit in September to hold the groundbreaking ceremony by the end of this year.
